Fourth of July Rice Krispies Treats

We recently got together with some friends and I wanted to bring a last-minute treat to share with everyone.

The treat I always think of when I have little time is Rice Krispies Treats, because A) I always have the ingredients on hand and B) They are easy and yummy!!

To change things up I decided to do make them a little patriotic and did Fourth of July Rice Krispies Treats. I had seen the idea on Pinterest via Cookie Madness but wanted to make my layers a lot more vibrant. I was able to do that with the right food coloring, and I LOVE how they turned out!!

It only added a few more minutes to the already quick and easy dessert, but made them look super festive and fun!!

Here is how you can do them as well:

SUPPLIES:

– 6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

– 1 package marshmallows

– 3 TB margarine or butter

– Food coloring (red and blue – I like Betty Crocker Gel Food Colors because the colors are brighter)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Gather your supplies and divide the rice krispies and marshmallows in three for the three layers (2 cups rice krispies and about 2 cups marshmallows).

2. I like to microwave my marshmallows because it’s easier. I stick them in a microwave safe bowl along with the margarine (1 TB) for a few minutes or until they start to get big and almost touch the top of the microwave. Take them out, stir well and add the food coloring (I added almost 1/4 – 1/3 tube of the gel food coloring which is a lot I know but made the colors pretty and bright). Then add the 2 cups of Rice Krispies and stir well. Press into well greased 9×9 (a 9×13 works but makes thinner treats). I wanted mine more thick so I used a 9×9 (8×8 would work as well).

3. Do this for all 3 layers starting with the blue, then white (which is just regular and requires no food coloring) and then red. Pat down all layers really well using wax paper.

What a great idea to add the food coloring! Rice crispy treats are totally a go-to treat in our house – well, we use gluten free rice crispies! I am totally pinning this to my 4th of July board, and I am your newest follower Cant wait to see what other great ideas you have!veronica recently posted..Adventures in Home Improvement: Flower Planter

Ok..it’s official..you are my hero!
Not only do I LOVE rice krispie treats but I love any excuse to play w/ my food colors and icing dyes.
AND
the fact that I only make rice krispie treats once in awhile because of the mess in the melted pan. has now been rectified by the fact I can now make them using my microwave!!
You are awesome…I’m putting these on my blog.!! thanks so much!!

LOL!! Yay – so glad to be someone’s hero, haha!! It was so fun using the food colors for these and using the gel food colors made the colors so vibrant!! And what’s funny is I’ve been micorwaving my marshmallows for years – I thought everyone did it. Makes for a SUPER quick but yummy treat.

I made this for our church’s 4th of July cookout tonight. I tried the microwave method but it didn’t work for me; the marshmallows stuck to the sides and turned hard. Maybe I did something wrong. Fortunately I had bought an extra bag of marshmallows, so I just started over using the stovetop, the old-fashioned way. I did use a 9×13 pan but the 2nd and 3rd layers were hard to spread to cover the previous layer (not enough “batter” to cover that much area). Will definitely use a 9×9 or 8×8 pan next time. I think these will be a hit tonight!

Hmmmm…. not sure what happened with your marshmallows. I always microwave and never had that problem. :/ Glad you had an extra bag. I think a 9×9 is the perfect size and may take off the 9×13 so people know it may not fit. Thanks for the suggestion. Hope you had a great Fourth.

I’m a guy, so I’m not sure if I can comment on here. haha
I’m making these for my wife, and I was wondering what size bag of marshmallows you are referring to? I got a 16oz. bag but it looks kinda big. Thanks

Hi Caleb – so sorry I’m just now commenting back. We were on vacation last week. The 16 oz. bag is perfect. Seems like a lot but it’s the best amount. You may have to add a few more Rice Krispies. And PS – Guys are definitely welcome here.

Make three bowls (make sure they are big enough to stir the rice krispies in!) of 2 cups of marshmallow and one tablespoon of margarine/butter in each bowl. Heat as instructed (I did about a minute and a half) then take the bowl you heated and add the color. (red or blue) Stir then add 2 cups of the cereal and stir. The stirring is the hardest part!

Well, I made these Fourth of July Rice Krispies Treats and they looked good and appealing on the picture, and I followed all instructions, but mine didn’t turn out quite so appealing. Also, you left out a lot of information I would have liked to know without having to look it up. For the people like me, splitting the bag of marshmallows is about 2 cups each, and I honestly did not know how many drops of my food coloring to put in. Luckily, since they aren’t so delightful as they appear in your pictures, I only made these for my family at home. Thanks for the recipe though! Add more info next time!

I wanted to let you know I am featuring your 4th of July Rice Krispies Treats in my Easy 4th of July Recipes post on 6/20/14! I thank you for sharing your recipe and am exited to include it alongside other great 4th of July recipe ideas!

I tried this recipe and the recipe isn’t enough for the pan and to mix on the colors is very difficult to do I used the same ingredients as you and you should describe the ingredients more specifically…. Are they mini marshmallows or regular, what type of butter salted or unsalted,and I think you should’ve mixed the color in with the marshmallows and butter not when the Rice Krispies are already in the mixture and the stove works best

Sorry you had a hard time with this recipe. We’ve made it several times just as instructed and they always turn out perfectly. As for marshmallows, I’ve done mini and regular and they turn out the same. I also always use unsalted butter with my treats.